Nelson Mandela - Universal Family of Schools

Nelson Mandela

   Nelson Mandela is known throughout the world for his fight against apartheid, the separation
of blacks and whites. In 1944, while in his 20s, Mandela joined the African National Congress
(ANC). The ANC was a political organization that fought against the racist policies of the South
African government.
   Mandela led a peaceful resistance against the South African government for 20 years. He
implemented strategies such as boycotts, strikes, civil disobedience, and non-cooperation. As a
leader of the ANC, Mandela fought for blacks to have the right to vote and to travel without the
use of documents called dompas. Mandela also fought for workers' rights and for free education
for children of all colors.
   In 1960, the South African government banned the ANC. The organization went
underground. Mandela decided that peaceful resistance was ineffective in the fight to end
apartheid. He began supporting militant or aggressive actions against the South African
government. In 1962, Mandela was arrested for leading a national workers' strike. The South
African government sentenced him to five years in prison. While in prison, Mandela was charged
with sabotage and was sentenced to life in prison.
   The South African government had hoped that locking Mandela behind bars would
discourage his followers. However, Mandela became a symbol for the anti-apartheid movement.
In 1985, President P. W. Botha tried to make a deal with Mandela. He offered to set Mandela
free if Mandela agreed to call off the armed fight against apartheid. Mandela immediately
declined this offer.
   In 1989, Frederik Willem de Klerk became the president of South Africa. He released
Mandela from prison in 1990 and lifted the ban on the ANC. After spending 27 years in prison,
Mandela continued to pressure the South African government to end apartheid. He called on
foreign leaders to join him in the fight for blacks to have the same rights as whites. Mandela also
continued to support the ANC's use of weapons against the South African government.
   Mandela worked with President F. W. de Klerk to establish the first multiracial elections in
South Africa. In 1993, both men received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end apartheid.
The government of South Africa held the first democratic elections in 1994. Nelson Mandela
won the election and became the first black president of South Africa.

1. Which statement from the passage supports the idea that Nelson Mandela was a courageous
man?

         After spending 27 years in prison, Mandela continued to pressure the South African
    A.
         government to end apartheid.
         He offered to set Mandela free if Mandela agreed to call off the armed fight against
    B.
         apartheid.
    C. In 1944, while in his 20s, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC).
    D. Nelson Mandela won the election and became the first black president of South Africa.

   Professor Challenger was in the worst possible humour. As I stood at the door of his
study, my hand upon the handle and my foot upon the mat, I heard a monologue which
ran like this, the words booming and reverberating through the house:

"Yes, I say it is the second wrong call—the second in one morning. Do you imagine
that a man of science is to be distracted from essential work by the constant
interference of some idiot at the end of a wire? I will not have it. Send this instant for the
manager. Oh! you are the manager. Well, why don't you manage? Yes, you certainly
manage to distract me from work the importance of which your mind is incapable of
understanding. I want the superintendent. He is away? So I should imagine. I will carry
you to the law courts if this occurs again. . . . The case is clear. A written apology. Very
good. I will consider it. Good morning."
    It was at this point that I ventured to make my entrance. It was certainly an
unfortunate moment. I confronted him as he turned from the telephone—a lion in its
wrath. His huge black beard was bristling, his great chest was heaving with indignation,
and his arrogant grey eyes swept me up and down as the backwash of his anger fell
upon me.
adapted from "The Disintegration Machine" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

2. The text implies which of the following?

    A. The narrator worries about Professor Challenger's health.
    B. The narrator thinks Professor Challenger's rage is humorous.
    C. The narrator is a scientist working with Professor Challenger.
    D. The narrator feels intimidated by Professor Challenger.

    Earl opens his eyes and blinks into the darkness. The alarm clock is ringing. It says
3:20, and the moonlight streaming through the window means it must be the early
morning. Earl fumbles for the lamp, almost knocking it over in the process.
Incandescent light fills the room, painting the metal furniture yellow, the walls yellow, the
bedspread, too. He lies back and looks up at the stretch of yellow ceiling tiles above
him, interrupted by a handwritten sign taped to the ceiling. He reads the sign two,
maybe three times, then blinks at the room around him.
    It is a bare room. Institutional, maybe. There is a desk over by the window. The desk
is bare except for the blaring alarm clock. Earl probably notices, at this point, that he is
fully clothed. He even has his shoes on under the sheets. He extracts himself from the
bed and crosses to the desk. Nothing in the room would suggest that anyone lived
there, or ever had, except for the odd scrap of tape stuck here and there to the wall. No
pictures, no books, nothing. Through the window, he can see a full moon shining on
carefully manicured grass.
    Earl slaps the snooze button on the alarm clock and stares a moment at the two
keys taped to the back of his hand. He picks at the tape while he searches through the
empty drawers. In the left pocket of his jacket, he finds a roll of hundred-dollar bills and
a letter sealed in an envelope. He checks the rest of the main room and the bathroom.
Nothing else.
    Earl absentmindedly plays with the lump of scar tissue on his neck and moves back
toward the bed. He lies back down and stares up at the ceiling and the sign taped to it.
The sign reads, GET UP, GET OUT RIGHT NOW. THESE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO

KILL YOU. Earl closes his eyes.
adapted from "Memento Mori" by Jonathan Nolan

3. Which of the following statements is best supported by the text?

    A. Earl is angry at having to wake up so early in the morning.
    B. Earl is in the process of moving to a new apartment.
    C. Earl is in the hospital waiting to have neck surgery.
    D. Earl is unconcerned about the sign taped to the ceiling.

    It would be hard to find a man who lived in his work as did Akaky Akakyevitch. To
say that he was zealous in his work is not enough; no, he loved his work. In it, in that
copying, he found a varied and agreeable world of his own. There was a look of
enjoyment on his face; certain letters were favorites with him, and when he came to
them he was delighted; he chuckled to himself and winked and moved his lips, so that it
seemed as though every letter his pen was forming could be read in his face.
    If rewards had been given according to the measure of zeal in the service, he might
to his amazement have even found himself a civil counsellor; but all he gained in the
service, as the wits, his fellow clerks, expressed it, was a buckle in his buttonhole and a
pain in his back. It cannot be said, however, that no notice had ever been taken of him.
One director, being a good-natured man and anxious to reward him for his long service,
sent him something a little more important than his ordinary copying; he was instructed
from a finished document to make some sort of report for another office; the work
consisted only of altering the headings and in places changing the first person into the
third. This cost him such an effort that it threw him into a regular perspiration: he
mopped his brow and said at last, "No, better let me copy something."
    From that time forth they left him to go on copying forever. It seemed as though
nothing in the world existed for him outside his copying. He gave no thought at all to his
clothes; his uniform was—well, not green but some sort of rusty, muddy color. And there
were always things sticking to his uniform, either bits of hay or threads; moreover, he
had a special art of passing under a window at the very moment when various rubbish
was being flung out into the street, and so was continually carrying off bits of melon rind
and similar litter on his hat.
    He had never once in his life noticed what was being done and going on in the
streets, all those things at which, as we all know, his colleagues, the young clerks,
always stare, carrying their sharp sight so far even as to notice any one on the other
side of the pavement with a trouser strap hanging loose—a detail which always calls
forth a sly grin. Whatever Akaky Akakyevitch looked at, he saw nothing anywhere but
his clear, evenly written lines, and only perhaps when a horse's head suddenly
appeared from nowhere just on his shoulder, and its nostrils blew a perfect gale upon
his cheek, did he notice that he was not in the middle of his writing, but rather in the
middle of the street.
adapted from "The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol

4. Which statement from the text best supports the idea that Akaky is unable to adapt to new
situations?

         He gave no thought at all to his clothes; his uniform was—well, not green but some sort
    A.
         of rusty, muddy color.
         There was a look of enjoyment on his face; certain letters were favorites with him, and
    B.
         when he came to them he was delighted. . . .
         One director, being a good-natured man and anxious to reward him for his long service,
    C.
         sent him something a little more important than his ordinary copying. . . .
         This cost him such an effort that it threw him into a regular perspiration: he mopped his
    D.
         brow and said at last, "No, better let me copy something."

    As the Milvains sat down to breakfast the clock of Wattleborough parish church
struck eight; it was two miles away, but the strokes were borne very distinctly on the
west wind this autumn morning. Jasper, listening before he cracked an egg, remarked
with cheerfulness:
    "There's a man being hanged in London at this moment."
    "Surely it isn't necessary to let us know that," said his sister Maud, coldly.
    "And in such a tone, too!" protested his sister Dora.
    "Who is it?" inquired Mrs. Milvain, looking at her son with pained forehead.
    "I don't know. It happened to catch my eye in the paper yesterday that someone was
to be hanged at Newgate this morning. There's a certain satisfaction in reflecting that it
is not oneself."
    "That's your selfish way of looking at things," said Maud.
    "Well," returned Jasper, "seeing that the fact came into my head, what better use
could I make of it? I could curse the brutality of an age that sanctioned such things; or I
could grow sad over the misery of the poor fellow. But those emotions would be as little
profitable to others as to myself. It just happened that I saw the thing in a light of
consolation. Finances are bad, but not so bad as THAT. I might be going out between
Jack Ketch and the Chaplain to be hanged; instead of that, I am eating a really fresh
egg, and very excellent buttered toast, with coffee as good as can be reasonably
expected in this part of the world.—(Do try boiling the milk, mother.)—The tone in which
I spoke was spontaneous; being so, it needs no justification."
    He was a young man of five-and-twenty, well built, though a trifle thin, and of pale
complexion. He had hair that was very nearly black, and a clean-shaven face, best
described, perhaps, as of bureaucratic type. The clothes he wore were of expensive
material, but had seen a good deal of service. His stand-up collar curled over at the
corners, and his necktie was lilac-sprigged.
    Of the two sisters, Dora, aged twenty, was more like him physically, but she spoke
with a gentleness which seemed to indicate a different character. Maud, who was
twenty-two, had bold, handsome features, and very beautiful red hair; hers was not a
face that readily smiled. Their mother had the look and manners of an invalid, though
she sat at table in the ordinary way. All were dressed as ladies, though very shabbily.
The room, which looked upon a small patch of garden, was decorated with old-

fashioned comfort despite its small size and poor furnishings.
adapted from New Grub Street by George Gissing

5. The text supports which of the following conclusions?

    A. The Milvain family does not support the death penalty.
    B. Jasper works hard to provide for his mother and sisters.
    C. The Milvain family is experiencing financial problems.
    D. Maud is a friend of the man being hanged in London.

                                Entomophagy – Yea or Nay?
                                           by C. Vesely

    Entomophagy is the practice of eating insects. People all over the world have been eating
insects for thousands of years. Today, however, not many people in developed countries eat
insects as a regular part of their diet. In other areas of the world, eating insects is part of the
culture. Africa, Australia, Cambodia, China, Mexico, New Guinea, Thailand, and Vietnam are a
few of the places where entomophagy is still very common.
    To many Americans and Europeans, the idea of eating insects is disgusting. Throughout life,
they were taught that insects were dirty pests that should be destroyed or avoided. In contrast,
people in areas of Central and South America, Africa, and Asia view certain insects as a tasty
and nutritious food source. Which of these views about insects is correct?
    In order to answer this question, let's look at some nutritional information. Crickets, for
example, are low in calories and fat and rich in protein and iron. In 100 grams of cricket, there
are 121 calories, 5.5 grams of fat, 12.9 grams of protein, and 9.5 mg of iron. Comparatively, 100
grams of beef contains 288.2 calories, 21.2 grams of fat, 23.5 grams of protein, and 3.5 mg of
iron. While the beef contains more protein, it also contains more fat and less iron. Crickets and
other insects are a lean source of protein.
    In addition to nutritional value, let's explore the way insects taste. Many people report that
dry-roasted crickets have a nutty flavor similar to sunflower seeds. Others have described the
taste of grubs as something similar to an egg omelet. Also, many people describe ants as having
a tangy or lemony flavor and termites as having a woody flavor. Insects can be prepared in ways
to enhance their flavors. For example, many cricket recipes call for spices such as ginger and
garlic. Also, insects can be ground into a powder and used as an unobtrusive ingredient.
    Another aspect of entomophagy to consider is the potential danger. Before eating an insect
people should consider what the creature has been exposed to. Insects in urban areas are likely to
be tainted with pesticides. People should only consume insects that come from a clean source.
Also, people with shellfish allergies should use extreme caution when eating any insect. Many
insects contain iodine, the substance that causes allergic reactions to shellfish. Additionally,
brightly colored, hairy, or spiny insects are often poisonous and should not be eaten.
    Finally, one of the most attractive features of entomophagy is that insect farming requires
fewer resources than animal ranching. For example, a cricket farm takes up much less space than
a cattle ranch. Also, crickets eat a lot less than cows. Of course, a single cow yields more meat
than a single cricket. However, crickets yield more meat than cows when compared to the
amount of food each creature requires. Therefore, one can argue that insects are an

environmentally friendly food source.
   Entomophagy may not be for everyone. Many of us may not be willing or able to overcome
our ingrained repulsion to the thought of eating insects. On the other hand, there are many people
who think of certain insects as delicacies. Regardless of personal preference and taste, insects
provide good nutrition and are easy to raise.

6. Which statement from the passage supports the idea that people who do not normally eat
insects can adapt to eating insects?

    A. Crickets, for example, are low in calories and fat and rich in protein and iron.
    B. People should only consume insects that come from a clean source.
    C. Also, insects can be ground into a powder and used as an unobtrusive ingredient.
    D. On the other hand, there are many people who think of certain insects as delicacies.

    One of our ladies present at dinner was worthy Mrs. Threadgall, widow of the late
Professor of that name. Talking of her deceased husband perpetually, this good lady
never mentioned to strangers that he was deceased. She thought, I suppose, that every
able-bodied adult in England ought to know as much as that. In one of the gaps of
silence, somebody mentioned the dry and rather nasty subject of human anatomy;
whereupon good Mrs. Threadgall straightway brought in her late husband as usual,
without mentioning that he was dead. Anatomy she described as the Professor's
favourite recreation in his leisure hours. As ill-luck would have it, Mr. Candy, sitting
opposite (who knew nothing of the deceased gentleman), heard her. Being the most
polite of men, he seized the opportunity of assisting the Professor's anatomical
amusements on the spot.
    "They have got some remarkably fine skeletons lately at the College of Surgeons,"
says Mr. Candy, across the table, in a loud cheerful voice. "I strongly recommend the
Professor, ma'am, when he next has an hour to spare, to pay them a visit."
    You might have heard a pin fall. The company (out of respect to the Professor's
memory) all sat speechless. I was behind Mrs. Threadgall at the time, plying her
confidentially with a glass of hock. She dropped her head, and said in a very low voice,
"My beloved husband is no more."
    Unluckily Mr. Candy, hearing nothing, and miles away from suspecting the truth,
went on across the table louder and politer than ever.
    "The Professor may not be aware," says he, "that the card of a member of the
College will admit him, on any day but Sunday, between the hours of ten and four." Mrs.
Threadgall dropped her head right into her tucker, and, in a lower voice still, repeated
the solemn words, "My beloved husband is no more."
    I winked hard at Mr. Candy across the table. Miss Rachel touched his arm. My lady
looked unutterable things at him. Quite useless! On he went, with a cordiality that there
was no stopping anyhow. "I shall be delighted," says he, "to send the Professor my
card, if you will oblige me by mentioning his present address."
    "His present address, sir, is THE GRAVE," says Mrs. Threadgall, suddenly losing her
temper, and speaking with an emphasis and fury that made the glasses ring again. "The

Professor has been dead these ten years."
from The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

7. Which of the following best supports the conclusion that Mrs. Threadgall is self-absorbed?

    A. She is dismissive of her husband's interest in human anatomy.
    B. She tries to make the guests at the dinner party feel uncomfortable.
    C. She ignores Mr. Candy's attempts to engage her in conversation.
    D. She assumes everyone will know that her husband is deceased.

    About six o'clock I went home, dressed, dined at the Café Royal, and turned into a
music-hall. It was a silly show, and I did not stay long. The night was fine and clear as I
walked back to the flat I had hired near Portland Place. The crowd surged past me on
the pavements, busy and chattering, and I envied the people for having something to
do. These shop-girls and clerks and dandies and policemen had some interest in life
that kept them going. I gave half-a-crown to a beggar because I saw him yawn; he was
a fellow-sufferer.
    My flat was the first floor in a new block behind Langham Place. I was just fitting my
key into the door when I noticed a stranger at my elbow. I had not seen him approach,
and the sudden appearance made me start. He was a slim man, with a short brown
beard and small, piercing blue eyes.
    "Can I speak to you?" he said. "May I come in for a minute?" He was steadying his
voice with an effort, and his hand was pawing my arm.
    I got my door open and motioned him in. No sooner was he over the threshold than
he made a dash for my back room, where I used to write my letters. Then he bolted
back.
    "Is the door locked?" he asked feverishly, and he fastened the chain with his own
hand.
    "I'm very sorry," the stranger said humbly. "It's a mighty liberty, but you looked the
kind of man who would understand. I've had you in my mind all this week when things
got troublesome. Say, will you do me a good turn?"
    "I'll listen to you," I said. "That's all I'll promise." I was getting worried by the antics of
this nervous little chap.
    "Pardon," he said, "I'm a bit rattled tonight. You see, I happen at this moment to be
dead."
    I sat down in an armchair.
    "What does it feel like?" I asked. I was pretty certain that I had to deal with a
madman.
    A smile flickered over the stranger's drawn face. "I'm not mad—yet. Say, Sir, I've
been watching you, and I reckon you're a cool customer. I reckon, too, you're an honest
man, and not afraid of playing a bold hand. I'm going to confide in you. I need help
worse than any man ever needed it, and I want to know if I can count you in."
    "Get on with your story," I said, "and I'll tell you."
adapted from The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan

8. Which conclusion can be supported by the information in the text?

         The narrator is bored with life, and this influences his decision to let the stranger into his
    A.
         flat.
         The narrator is under extreme stress, and this leads him to experience hallucinations one
    B.
         night.
         The narrator is having financial problems and hopes that the stranger can offer him
    C.
         employment.
    D. The narrator is a talented psychiatrist who specializes in helping delusional patients.

                                          Buy Local Food

   Many people are in the habit of consuming food without really knowing where their food
comes from. Part of enjoying food is being educated about its origins. We should all take an
interest in where our food comes from and how it is produced.
   Consuming locally produced meats, fruits, vegetables, and grains creates multiple benefits.
For instance, when consumers choose produce that is grown in their region, the fruits and
vegetables will be ripe, flavorful, and full of vitamins and minerals. In contrast, fruits and
vegetables that are shipped from far away must be picked before they have ripened. This practice
causes the produce to lack nutrients and flavor. Meat, milk, and eggs from local sources are also
fresher and tastier than those shipped from far away.
   A couple more benefits of consuming local foods are the preservation of biodiversity and the
preservation of traditional agricultural methods. By supporting local foods, people can maintain
the knowledge of how to cultivate produce and how to harvest wild vegetation within their
communities. The same is true of raising domestic animals and of hunting wild animals. Some
members of a community have knowledge of how to harvest wild berries, nuts, and herbs
without upsetting the ecosystem. Other residents understand how to hunt the local wildlife
without endangering the animal populations. Still, others know how to grow crops and raise
animals that thrive well in their region. By understanding the wildlife and agriculture of an area,
people can preserve the land and its inhabitants.
   One more benefit of buying local food is that consumers can support farmers and ranchers
who treat the animals humanely. Consumers can purchase meat, eggs, and milk from farmers
who provide clean and spacious living quarters to their cows and chickens. Those farmers can
also make sure that the animals are given freedom to roam and to graze or forage for food.

9. Which statement from the passage supports the idea that people who live in an area have
specialized knowledge of local food sources?

         Other residents understand how to hunt the local wildlife without endangering the animal
    A.
         populations.
         Those farmers can also make sure that the animals are given freedom to roam and to
    B.
         graze or forage for food.
         Meat, milk, and eggs from local sources are also fresher and tastier than those shipped
    C.
         from far away.

Consuming locally produced meats, fruits, vegetables, and grains creates multiple
    D.
         benefits.

    It would be hard to find a man who lived in his work as did Akaky Akakyevitch. To
say that he was zealous in his work is not enough; no, he loved his work. In it, in that
copying, he found a varied and agreeable world of his own. There was a look of
enjoyment on his face; certain letters were favorites with him, and when he came to
them he was delighted; he chuckled to himself and winked and moved his lips, so that it
seemed as though every letter his pen was forming could be read in his face.
    If rewards had been given according to the measure of zeal in the service, he might
to his amazement have even found himself a civil counsellor; but all he gained in the
service, as the wits, his fellow clerks, expressed it, was a buckle in his buttonhole and a
pain in his back. It cannot be said, however, that no notice had ever been taken of him.
One director, being a good-natured man and anxious to reward him for his long service,
sent him something a little more important than his ordinary copying; he was instructed
from a finished document to make some sort of report for another office; the work
consisted only of altering the headings and in places changing the first person into the
third. This cost him such an effort that it threw him into a regular perspiration: he
mopped his brow and said at last, "No, better let me copy something."
    From that time forth they left him to go on copying forever. It seemed as though
nothing in the world existed for him outside his copying. He gave no thought at all to his
clothes; his uniform was—well, not green but some sort of rusty, muddy color. And there
were always things sticking to his uniform, either bits of hay or threads; moreover, he
had a special art of passing under a window at the very moment when various rubbish
was being flung out into the street, and so was continually carrying off bits of melon rind
and similar litter on his hat.
    He had never once in his life noticed what was being done and going on in the
streets, all those things at which, as we all know, his colleagues, the young clerks,
always stare, carrying their sharp sight so far even as to notice any one on the other
side of the pavement with a trouser strap hanging loose—a detail which always calls
forth a sly grin. Whatever Akaky Akakyevitch looked at, he saw nothing anywhere but
his clear, evenly written lines, and only perhaps when a horse's head suddenly
appeared from nowhere just on his shoulder, and its nostrils blew a perfect gale upon
his cheek, did he notice that he was not in the middle of his writing, but rather in the
middle of the street.
adapted from "The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol

10. Based on the information in the text, Akaky's colleagues can best be described as

    A. jealous.
    B. observant.
    C. cheerful.
    D. hard-working.